VDMA reports that global demand for machines and equipment for the production and packaging of confectionery remained strong at the beginning of 2008. German exports rose by 44% to Euro 280 million in 2007, for example, as Richard Clemens (association director) announced at the interpack press conference in Düsseldorf / Germany.

He added that this figure did not include packaging machines and heat economy equipment for the confectionery industry as well as machinery for the production of long-life bakery goods, which did not appear in the foreign trade statistics. All in all, exports accounted for 80% of the industry's business. According to association estimates, production volume increased in 2007 to Euro 570 million as well (2006: Euro 490 million). Packaging machines contributed a third of this total.

The most important sales markets for the industry are apparently mainly outside the 27 EU states. Russia has been one of the strongest individual markets for German confectionery production machinery for years now.

Machines worth Euro 62 million were delivered there in 2007 alone, followed by Turkey (Euro 25 million), Ukraine (Euro 21 million), USA (Euro 20 million), China, Poland, Benelux, Iran, Mexico and Japan. The traditionally important USA market had fallen short of the expectations in 2007 due to the weakness of the USD and the economic situation.

Worldwide consumption of confectionery is growing steadily. This is particularly true of such emerging countries as China - with a market volume of 4.5 million tonnes, it is the biggest sales market for confectionery in the world after the USA - and of other markets with high development potential: global confectionery machine trading volume has increased by 25% in the last five years. The German suppliers of confectionery machines are evidently the market leaders in most major customer markets, with shares of between 30% and 60%. 40% of the total confectionery machine export trading volume was produced in Germany. This meant that the German manufacturers were international leaders in this segment, followed by Italy (15%) and Switzerland (10%).